The Power of Mentoring? An exploratory study into mentoring and its effectiveness as a learning and development tool for Irish SMEs

Behan, Sabrina
(2015)
The Power of Mentoring? An exploratory study into mentoring and its effectiveness as a learning and development tool for Irish SMEs.
Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of mentoring as a form of learning and development for Irish SME’s. The study will take an exploratory approach on the subject as there is very little research that has been done on this area within an Irish context. For the purpose of this study, a qualitative approach has been used in the form of semi-structured interviews. Five interviews were carried out amongst clients who recently participated in the Dublin Local Enterprise Office’s (LEO) mentoring programme. The participants came from different backgrounds and all the participants have their own businesses in a variety of sectors such as crafts, education and male grooming. The study produced some interesting results regarding the extent to which mentoring can affect the mentoree’s ideas due to the level of validation the mentoree gains from the mentor. The study also found that culture can affect the mentoring process as one of the participants from the Czech Republic found the mentoring process difficult to follow because of cultural differences. Following the findings of the study, areas such as culture shock within the mentoring process and the effects of learning from the mentor’s perspective were considered for future research.